Fuze for projectiles



March 8, 1955 R. L. GRAUMANN E-rAx.

FUZE FOR` PROJECTILES Filed May 26, 1945 United States Patent FUZE FORPROJECTILES Raymond L. Graumann, Alexandria, Va., and William J.Donahue, Jr., Washington, D. C.

Application May 26, 1945, Serial No. 596,067

2 Claims. (Cl. 102-73) (Granted under Title 35, U. S. Code (1952), sec.266) This invention relates to a fuze for a projectile and morespecifically to an .impact fuze for an explosive shell particularlyadapted for use against aircraft and having a crushable impact membersecured thereto and a detonator arranged within the impact memberadapted to detonate a bursting charge disposed within the shell inpredetermined time delayed relation with respect to the crushing of themember upon impact with a target.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of an impact fuzefor an explosive shell, having a crushable nose and a detonating chargearranged therein in predetermined spaced relation with respect to thenose and a booster charge in abutting relation with respect to thedetonating charge whereby, upon a sudden impact, the nose will becrushed or deformed rearwardly thereby to initiate tiring of thedetonator and explosion of the shell after the shell has entered thetarget.

An object of this invention is the provision of a new and improved fuzefor an explosive projectile adapted to be secured interiorly to theimpact nose thereof and having a detonator arranged therein inpredetermined proximate spaced relation with respect to the end wall ofthe nose such that the explosion of the projectile will be effectedwithin the interior of the target in response to piercing of the targetby the impact nose.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedfuze for a projectile whereby the projectile is made particularlyeffective for destroying war equipment such, for example, as aircraftengines, fuselages, airplane wings, gas tanks, and the like by explodingthe projectile within the target.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a new and improvedfuze for an explosive projectile having a plurality of explosive chargesarranged herein in abutting relation and composed of any suitablesubstance to insure the explosion of the projectile as the projectilestrikes and enters a target.

A still further object is the provision of a new and improved fuze for aprojectile which is economical to manufacture, reliable in operation andwhich possesses the qualities of durability and safety during handlingand transportation.

Still further objects, novel features and advantages of the inventionwill become apparent from the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view of a cartridge case and projectile partly in sectionand partly in elevation showing the manner in which the new and improvedfuze is secured to the projectile;

Fig. 2 is an end View of the fuze;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the fuze taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of an alternative arrangement ofthe booster charge within the fuze.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawing in detail for a more completeunderstanding of the invention, the fuze disclosed thereon and generallyindicated by the reference character is adapted to be secured to aprojectile 11. The projectile is of any well known type such, forexample, as the type known to those skilled in the art as twentymillimeter type projectile as used by the armed forces for destroyingaircraft and the like. As best shown on Fig. 1 of the drawing theprojectile 11 is detachably secured to the usual shell casing orcartridge 12 having an explosive charge 13 arranged therein, theprojectile comprising a shell 14 secured to the shell casing 12 in theusual manner, the shell having a bursting charge 15 arranged therein.

The fuze 10 comprises a crushable nose or impact member 16 composed ofany material suitable for the purpose such, for example, as zinc, or anyother relatively soft metal and secured to the forward end of the shell11 as by an externally screw threaded nipple 17 integrally connected tothe nose 16 and having screw threaded engagement with a screw threadedopening 18 provided in the end of the shell 11. Arranged within the nose16 is an adapter generally indicated by the reference character 19composed of any material suitable for the purpose and provided with abody 21 having a screw threaded portion 22 adapted to have screwthreaded engagement with an internally screw threaded opening 23provided in the nipple 17 thereby securing the adapter 19 within thenose 16 in proximate spaced relation to the leading end portion thereof.

A reduced extension 24 is integrally connected to the body 21 of theadapter 19 and extends a predetermined distance into a reduced bore 26provided in the nose 16. A shoulder 26 is provided on the body 21 of theadapter 19 and is adapted to have abutting relation with respect to ashoulder 27 provided within the nipple 17 of the nose 16 thereby tolimit the movement of the reduced extension 24 on the body 21 within thereduced bore 25 during the assembly of the parts thereby to provide aspace or small air chamber 28 between the outer end of the extension 24and the flattened or impact end 29 of the nose 16. The reduced extension24 is provided with a recess 31 adapted to receive a detonator generallyindicated by the reference character 32, the detonator comprising acup-shaped member 33 composed of relatively thin material such, forexample, as a sheet copper or the like, the cup-shaped member beingflanged as at 34.

A plurality of explosive charges of any well known type such, forexample, as lead azide indicated by the reference character 35, andTetryl indicated by the reference character 36, are enclosed within thecup-shaped member 33: It will be understood, however, that although thecharges 35 and 36 are highly sensitive to shock, the set back forcedeveloped when the projectile is tired from the gun is insuiicient tocause detonation thereof. A disk 37 composed of lead foil or any othermaterial suitable for the purpose is disposed upon the explosive charge35 and an annular member 38 is disposed between the disk 37 and theflange 34 on the cup-shaped member 33 whereby the explosive charges 35and 36 are retained within the cupshaped member in abutting relationwith respect to each other and moisture is excluded therefrom.

As shown on the drawing, especially Figs. 3 and 4 thereof, the detonator32 is secured within the recess 31 as by rolling the end of theextension 24 so as to form a flange 39, the flange being adapted toengage the ange 34 on the cup-shaped member 33, and thus the detonator32 is clamped within the recess 31. The adapter 19 is provided with areduced bore 41 communicating with the recess 31 and of such length asto extend substantially through the body 21 thereof. A booster charge 42is arranged within the bore 41 in proximate relation with respect to thedetonator and in predetermined spaced relation with respect to thebursting charge 15 and in such relation with respect to each other thateach succeeding charge is red by and under the influence of theexplosion of the preceding charge in predetermined time delayedrelation. It will be understood from the foregoing that a predeterminedinterval of time will elapse before the detonator will re in response toimpact of the shell with the target.

A thin disk or separator 43 composed of any material suitable for thepurpose is disposed within the recess 31 between the end wall of thedetonator and the booster charge 42 in such a manner as to seal thebooster charge within the bore 41 between the disk 43 and a cushion disk44, thus preventing shifting of the charge within the bore and thepremature ring thereof by friction or shock during assembly, handlingand transportation of the fuze.

As hereinbefore described, a small space or chamber 28 is providedbetween the outer end of the extension 24 supporting the detonator 32and the flattened or impact portion 29 of the nose 16 whereby thedetonator is spaced a predetermined distance from the impact portion 29in proximate relation therewith such that piercing of a target by thenose of the shell will be effected prior to detonation of the charge andignition of the charge will be effected within the interior of thetarget rather than upon the outer surface thereof. It will beunderstood, however, that upon impact of the shell with a target such,for example, as an airplane wing, gas tank or the like, the impact nose16 will be crushed, deformed, or forced rearwardly and will initiateexplosion of the detonator 32 thereby exploding the booster charge 42which will detonate the main or bursting charge 15 within the shellafter the shell has penetrated the target, thus destroying or renderingmaximum damage to the target.

On Fig. 4 of the drawing, the booster charge 42 is replaced by aplurality of explosive pellets 45. The pellets 45 are arranged withinthe bore 41 within the adapter 19 in any manner desired. It will beunderstood, however, that the pellets 45 may be composed of any suitableexplosive substance and, if desired, the proportions thereof may Vary toaccomplish any desired results. As the adapter shown on Fig. 4 isotherwise identical in construction with the adapter shown on Fig. 3,like reference char acters are used to designate like parts thereof.

The many advantages of the fuze constructed in accordance with thepresent invention will be readily apparent from the foregoingdescription taken in connection with the drawing and, whereas apreferred embodiment of the device is illustrated and described, it isto be understood that changes in the details of construction and in thecombination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to which fallwithin the scope of the invention as claimed.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or forthe Government of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

l. A firing device for an explosive shell comprising a unitary structureconsisting of a body having a cylindrical wall, an extension formed onsaid body and having a wall composed of relatively thin material withrespect to the material of said cylindrical wall, said extension havinga well formed therein terminating in a bore in the body, a boostercharge arranged within said bore, a detonator disposed within said well,a disk disposed between and in sealing engagement with said detonatorand booster Cil charge, the wall of said extension being turned to forma flange on the extension in abutting engagement with said detonator formaintaining the detonator within said well and the disk in sealingengagement with the charge thereby to prevent shifting of said chargewithin the bore and shifting of the detonator within said Well, andmeans on said body for attaching said tiring device to said shell as aunit in accordance with the unitary structure thereof.

2. A4v firing device for an explosive shell comprising an impact nosehaving a Well formed therein terminating in a bore of reduced diameterwith respect to the Well and an internally threaded portion in said boreof larger diameter with respect to the diameter of said well, an endwall bordering on said bore, an adapter having a cylindrical bodyportion threadedly engaging said internally threaded portion of thebore, a tubular extension integrally formed on said body portion anddisposed within said well with one end thereof in proximate relationwith respect to said end wall, said extension having a cavity thereinterminating in well means of reduced diameter with respect to thediameter of said cavity, a booster charge arranged within said wellmeans, a detonator disposed within said cavity, a disk disposed withinsaid Well means between and in sealing engagement with said detonatorand the booster charge, an inwardly turned ange formed on said extensionin abutting engagement with said detonator for locking the detonatorwithin the cavity and maintaining the disk within the well means insealing engagement with said charge, a shoulder formed at the junctionof said well and threaded portion, and a complementary shoulder formedon said adapter at the junction of said body portion and the tubularextension in abutting engagement with said shoulder for maintaining thedetonator within said well in proximate relation with respect to saidreduced bore and the end wall.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,361,955 Moore Nov. 7, 1944 2,396,978 Amthor Mar. 19, 1946 2,446,268Dawson Aug. 3, 1948 2,459,175 Moore Jan. 18, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS407,644 Great Britain Mar. 22, 1934 809,307 France Dec. 3, 1936

